How do you rate Spanish drivers

An observation and generalisation but I do not have a high opinion of Spanish drivers. Like teenagers, they may think they are good but is it an illusion?

Not for the first time I left rubber on the road today when braking to stop short of a youngster disregarding a stop sign. Is it a form of Spanish roulette? They tailgate, drive aggressively and fast, and rarely show consideration for other road users. Every man to himself.

I have been a professional driver for 45 years; UK, Spain, all over Europe. Just an observation.

 Well the driving is about as good as the driving test, a friend of mine passed his driving test in Spain, he is almost blind in one eye and not so good in the other,  to make matters worse even he was shocked.

I think it should be borne in mind that while allegedly some Spanish individuals admit to be somewhat arrogant and disobedient in many respects, so-called "democracy" is comparatively new, especially when it is remembered that the normal mode of transport, for the rank and file, was either a bicycle, shanks´s pony, or similar. This is not meant to be derogatory, believe it or not, however it was most certainly the case!

I have been driving for some 55 years, without incident, however, I do tend to drive very defensively here and always give the other driver as wide a berth as possible.

However, as the starter of this thread states, it is the tailgating that is one of the biggest worries and probably one of the reasons for the high rate of deaths on Spain´s roads? I find it very disconcerting to be travelling at speeds of 100kph+ and have a vehicle so close to the back of my car, that if an emergency situation presented itself, there would be very little chance of escape without injury!

Dreadful usually, but then we haven't read the Spanish Highway code so they may well be perfect.  Perhaps it allows double or even triple parking and the jumping of red lights whilst on a mobile phone, who know? I just wish that ALL drivers in whatever country had more consideration for others, but pigs might fly first.

G&M

We were being tailgated by a big lorry. Feeling intimidated, we pulled in and spoke to a parked Police man-he said he could do nothing unless it hit us!!

 We got that law in the UK now, no tailgating, suppose they expect us to take a photo of it and report it, bit hard when your on your own and driving.

elaineG,

I take your point, so you can stop whistling if you want to but although I must plead guilty to not knowing ALL the Spanish rules of the road, I am sure they do not allow for cars to have defective lighting, ignoring signs painted on the road, or elsewhere for that matter and of course, the infamous tailgating.

I just had a thought. I wonder who instructs the driving instructors?

Pilgrim     I must plead guilty to not knowing ALL the Spanish rules of the road,

 And, of course, everyone in UK is a paragon of driving excellence.  No tailgating (wonder why they had to introduce a law?), no cutting people up at roundabouts, everyone uses their indicators, you don't see cars with fautly lights, no-one hogs the middle lane on motorways and absolutely no-one uses a mobile phone whilst driving (except that there were 116,000 fixed penalty notices issued in England and Wales in 2009 for using a mobile and texting whilst driving).

And the high rate of deaths on the road in Spain?  1,504 last year compared to UK 1,725 (although per head of population probably about the same).  The worst drivers I find around here usually turn out to be expats who think the locals do it and so shall we. Thankfully most Spanish drivers still slow down or halt when coming off a slip road to a motorway, something that simply does not happen on UK motorways.  The number of times cars have come off the slip road straight into the outside lane.......

Oh, and the Spanish in this area are very derogatory about the standard of driving of those from the South of Spain who they reckon are the worst drivers in the world.

Well, bobaol,

I have to bow to your superior knowledge. I must admit, due to health problems, I have not been back to the UK for some years, so I must accept your comments re. conditions of the vehicles, people and the roads there..

The higher rate of deaths surprises me though! Could it be that more of the population own cars in the UK than Spain?

On another point, I have always and always will, stop and allow a pedestrian to cross, when they are at a crossing. Also, I will always give a "thank you" wave, when a motorist stops to let me cross, when I am walking. Neither seems to apply to natives of the country here.

Maybe it´s a culture thing but as an Englishman, I was taught to be polite and think of my fellow man. Courtesy costs nothing and maybe, just maybe, it might rub off??

 I think a few people have hit the point here which is inconsiderate driving. The Spanish love driving. Many of them are good at driving and take it seriously. I have noticed this with the Formula 1 style overtaking they do on motorways and the speed at which they go round roundabouts. The main problem for me is that they do what they want. No regard for the law, no regard for other road users and sometimes, not even for themselves. 

I consider myself to be a driver who is aware of other road users and that I have to take them into consideration. The Spanish don't do that. They do what they want and balls to the rest of the world. If they had a little more consideration for others, they would be excellent drivers. The worst thing for me when I moved to Spain is that all the experience I picked up driving in England went out the window as they are very unpredictable here. Cars come at you on roundabouts in allsorts of different ways. It certainly teaches you a lot and probably makes you a better if not more nervous driver. 

 I do 50k  miles a year and find the Spanish drivers O.K. Like anywhere you have to watch the other guy. As for drivers tailgating, doing what they want, TEXTING on their phones, having no lights, driving up the hard shoulder., etc., you need to drive the M4 and M25. A total free for all. and as the UK has no longer a police force NO one does anything about it. Ulike Spain where you do see police carrrying our spot checks.

The UK crime rate is down! is this because there are no police stations, is this because there is no way of contacting the police by phone, by email or don't even talk about face to face contact since theere aren't any on the street?. 

Don't knock Spain if you come from the Banana Replic created by Blair and CamerClegg. We are sinking fast over here.

I have to be careful as I may be found tied to a tree with my wrists slit one day !

gjohnint,

do not for one minute think that I am knocking Spain! I am very proud and feel privileged to be allowed to live here.

Putting aside for one moment all the aggravations that exist, what a joy it is to drive on the Autovías with beautiful mountains as a backdrop.

Some areas even have flowers growing along the central reservation. How good is that?

Oh no, I am very pleased to be here and shall be, as long as I live, in comparative peace and tranquility. PLUS, I´ve just bought a mobility scooter that does a stunning 8mph. I suppose I´ll have bicycles tailgating me when I am on that?

Why do the CG completely ignore many offenders? Walking in our busy town, I noticed many not wearing seat belts, children jumping about, some in the front on mother's knee, every other one had a mobile clamped to their ear. A lorry came out of a side road, cigarette in one hand, mobile in the other, seemingly driving with his knees, while turning! CG passed by, completely oblivious.